Samvel Babayan, former Defense Minister of the Republic of Mountainous Karabakh, declared at a press conference held earlier today at the "Hayatsk Club" that, "Our opponent hasn't yet accepted the path of mutual concessions and we are already declaring that we are ready to give, to make concessions. As to what we are giving and why, nobody knows." The former RMK Defense Minister pictures a resolution to the conflict in the following way. First our military strategists must evaluate what territories cannot be conceded at any cost if we take the road of mutual concessions. Secondly our economists, geologists and environmentalists must offer their assessments and only afterwards can our politicians draw up the map of what areas can be returned and what should be retained. Samvel Babayan believes that the crux of the matter is the fact of having more than 400,000 refugees and that, in his estimation, those territories must be resettled by people forcibly evicted from Soviet Azerbaijan. In the final analysis, according to Mr. Babayan, it is not Yerevan that needs to participate in the conflict resolution process, but rather Stepanakert. "Yerevan merely defends the interests of one section of its society. Yerevan should not be a party to the talks. Stepanakert must be a party to the negotiations." he concluded.